Space Odyssey

Interested in booking a commercial flight to space? Or how about watching a human land on Mars? Get a feel for the new frontier at the Museum of Science’s Space: An Out-of-Gravity Experience through Jan. 1 or watch Destination Mars, showing at the Charles Hayden Planetarium, to see how mankind is pushing the limits of space exploration. NASA astronaut and Randolph native Scott Tingle believes it’s already happening. “We’re at the knee curve for innovation,” he says. Tingle, who returned from a six-month stay on the International Space Station in June, recently spoke to students at MIT’s AeroAstro lab about life in space and fielded questions about how NASA selects astronauts. “We get trained to do everything, which means you’ve got to be a jack-of-all-trades. … If you don’t make it in any one of those areas, you can’t go.”

5 tips on becoming an astronaut

1. Have good people skills.2. Learn Russian.3. Be mission-minded.4. Stay in shape: “No matter what, you’re going to have to end up having a good body.”5. Be able to operate in extreme environments. “The [Astronaut Selection] board is trying to make the assessment: Can we bring this person to the front lines of space where there’s no 911? You can get help, sure, but you’re going to be the person putting out fires and helping your crewmates survive.”